Soap dispensers are well-known and the prior art includes a vast number of such dispensers. In recent years, the soap dispensers that dispense soap in a generally liquid form are being replaced by preferred soap dispensers that dispense the soap in the form of a foam. In these dispensers, liquid soap is combined with air and agitated, typically by forcing a mixture of air and liquid soap through one or more screens, to disperse air bubbles within the soap, thereby creating a foamed soap product. Most often, these dispensers include pumps that are either manually driven or driven by electronic means to collapse an air chamber and a soap chamber to thereby effect the mixing of the components. The air is typically drawn from the ambient atmosphere, while the liquid soap is typically fed from a container holding a bulk supply of soap. In some dispensers, the pump and bulk supply of soap are provided in one unit, often called a “refill unit” and so named because, when the soap container of such a unit is empty, the entire unit is removed from the remainder of the dispensing system and replaced by a new unit, thus refilling the dispensing system with soap.
In prior art counter-mounted dispensing systems, the refill units or bulk supplies of soap are typically provided under the counter. That is, maintenance personnel or other appropriate individuals must access the soap container or refill unit by accessing space under the counter. Such awkward positioning of the soap containers/refill units make them difficult and unpleasant to replace. Thus, the soap dispensing arts might be improved by the provision of dispensing systems wherein the soap containers or refill units can be installed into the dispensing system at a position at the exposed and easily accessed top surface of the counter.
Notably, the liquid soaps employed in prior art dispensing systems include a significant amount of liquid (typically water) and therefore the bulk containers or refill units can be quite large in order to hold an appropriate number of dispensing doses of soap. Such voluminous containers are not likely to be aesthetically pleasing when mounted above a counter in a counter-mounted dispensing system. And, while this may not be an issue when mounting such containers under a counter, the bulkiness of the container contributes to the awkwardness of accessing the space under the counter and installing the container/refill unit. Thus, the art would benefit from dispensing systems that employ concentrated soaps such that a desirable number of doses can be provided in a given soap container or refill unit without requiring them to be very voluminous.
Dispensing systems are typically actuated manually or by electronic means. Manually-actuated dispensers typically provide a push bar or plunger that must be pressed by the user to cause the actuation of the pumping mechanisms that result in the dispensing of a dose of soap or foamed soap. Common electronic systems typically provide a sensor that can sense the presence of a hand below a dispensing location, and, upon sensing the presence of a hand, causes motors and/or gearing and the like to actuate the pump mechanisms, causing a dose of soap to be automatically dispensed to the hand. Such electronic systems must somehow be powered, whether by batteries or a mains power supply. A mains power supply consumes energy, and thus also paid for, and batteries must be replaced when expired, which also must be paid for. To reduce the realized cost of the system, the prior art would benefit from a dispensing system that has a very minimal power supply requirement.
In the art of dispensers in general, there is a need for a practical system for employing a concentrated product, diluting that product to an acceptable concentration before dispensing. The concentrated product shipped for refilling empty dispensers would therefore provide more useful doses per unit volume thus providing a greener alternative to the more bulky non-concentrated products most commonly employed. In those dispensers that employ refill units, the refill unit can be smaller and more easily manipulated, particularly in counter-mounted soap dispensers in which it is often difficult to manipulate and properly install the refill units of the prior art. There is also a need to provide a dispenser wherein the power required to drive the dispenser components to dispense product is reduced. Various dispenser embodiments are disclosed herein to satisfy one or more—and in some instances all—of the above needs.